The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of ALSTOM's Chantiers de l'Atlantique by Aker Yards ASA.

Aker Yards says the transaction is expected to be concluded by the end of April 2006.

The European Commission says the takeover would make Aker Yards the second largest producer of cruise ships world-wide. The Commission says the merged entity would continue to face competition from existing competitors in the market. Furthermore, there is strong concentration on the buyer side (the large cruise operators), which means that a single customer represents an important part of the overall turnover in this market for the shipyards.

The Commission says the proposed transaction also leads to minor overlaps in other areas such as for the construction of ferries. However, in these areas the merging parties are faced with a large number of strong competitors. The Commission has concluded that no concerns would arise in the ferry or any other market.